BOOK REVIEW: A.D The Bible Continues

With the popularity of the TV series by the same name, "A.D. The Bible Continues: The Revolution That Changed the World," is a perfect read. Following Paul, Peter, and other early notable biblical figures through the first 11 chapters of Acts, Dr. David Jeremiah uses a narrative style to show us details we may never have seen before. For instance, a good example is how he shows us, in-depth, the points Stephen made in his speech prior to being stoned--and how the Jewish leaders would have understood it from their point of view. It's easy to see how incensed they became by the arguments he made against them. Dr. Jeremiah does this for each of the chapters he narrates, giving us a fresh look at familiar territory.

Two other features of this book are quite enamoring. First, the insets throughout that illustrate key people, places, and terms allow the reader to glean some "behind the scenes" information. Second, each chapter, after narrating the text, includes application of biblical concepts to the believer's life. For instance, the chapter on Stephen's martyrdom then takes us through the greatness, challenge, and reward of serving.

This book would be easy for someone who is not a believer to read and understand. In fact, because it is so biblically sound, I could see someone who is not familiar with the Bible finding this a great introduction to the Word of God. On the other hand, for seasoned believers, this provides a new look and some deeper "nuggets" about stories they know and love. A win for everyone!

Dr. Jeremiah's site offers more information, as well as clips from the show.

I received this book free of charge from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for a fair review.

Car alarms and the zombie apocalypse

Jesus might come back tonight. 

Or, He might come back in 5 months and 3 days. 

Or 12 years and 8 months. 

You get the point. We are told we will not know the day or the hour of His return...but we are told He definitely WILL return. 

God told Daniel that "knowledge will increase" at the time of the end. 

Paul told the believers in Thessalonica, 

'But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.'  1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, NET

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 24 some of the signs that would precede the end. 

And the book of Revelation clearly outlines the events that will occur as this world draws to a close. 

These snapshots, and many others in God's Word, seem to indicate that though we cannot predict Jesus' return, we can have a good sense of when it is near. We are seeing many of these events unroll right in our headlines today. Almost every day. And we're supposed to pay attention. 

I heard a car alarm go off the other day as I was in my car at a stoplight. It sent a shot of adrenaline through me as I recognized that it is meant to indicate a dramatic problem--someone is breaking into your car. (This was a car under repair at an auto shop, however, so there wasn't really a threat). The alarm kept going. And going. And pretty soon I just wanted it to stop. All of a sudden, this thought came into my head: 

Things meant to ALARM us, 
and make us pay ATTENTION,
often just ANNOY us
and lead to AVOIDANCE. 

(For the record, I really used to dislike alliterative messages. However, God seems to give me a lot of words this way. Pretty sure He thinks that's funny). 

I thought of how many alarms are going off in our headlines these days--alarms straight up from the pages of the Bible. They're supposed to make us pay attention, because they point to something dramatic about to happen--something that will find millions of people unprepared. 

Remember this song? How about this video (which is fairly cheesy, but gets the point across) (and should probably be updated to include video footage of terrorist attacks in just the past year)?

As I type this, young people at a university in another country under siege by terrorists are being asked if they are Christians or not. Those answering yes are being shot. 

But instead of paying attention, much of the world is just annoyed at the persistency of the alarms. Be quiet. Stop shouting. Don't bother me. New episodes of (fill in the blank) are now on Netflix. What colors do you see when you look at that dress? We're not ALARMed. We're not paying ATTENTION. We're ANNOYed. We AVOID. 

Tonight commemorates the night Jesus poured out His prayers for me and for you in the garden. So intense was His passion for our salvation that He sweat blood. He pleaded with His Father: is there any other way to atone for their sin? No. There is no other way. So He got up and went to the cross, beaten, bloodied, spit on, cursed, crucified. Spent three days in hell. Rose in power--ALIVE. ASCENDED to heaven to wait for that moment, known only to the Father, when He will come back for those who choose to ACCEPT the "get out of hell free" card He purchased with His blood. 

Man, the A words are just flooding the page today.

Also tonight is the 3rd of the "blood moon" tetrad of 2014/15. These blood moons occurred on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles last year, and are set to do the same this year. Historically, significant events have occurred in Israel coincident with these moons. It's possible something significant could occur tonight. Or tomorrow. Or in October, at the 4th blood moon. Or not. 

But here's the deal: the alarms are going off. We're supposed to pay attention. I don't want to tune out the blaring sounds and ignore them. I don't want to be annoyed or to avoid. And I don't want anyone else to either. I want my life lined up and ready because I listened to the alarms and paid attention. 

Here's a link to Matthew 24 if you want to read Jesus' words yourself. He had a lot to say about being ready. 

"I wish we'd all been ready..." 

Oh, and there's no zombie apocalypse. I realized some of you who are reading this are waiting to see when I'm going to get to that. I'm not.